This invention relates to apparatus for manually transporting large planar articles and, in particular, for permitting the transport of large area sheets of wallboard, plasterboard, plywood, pressed wood and the like by a single individual.
Today, the building industry is characterized by escalating wage scales for the workers. Thus, increasing interest is shown in devices and work techniques which can reduce the number of man-hours required to perform given tasks at the construction site. At the vast majority of construction jobs, large quantities of planar or sheet materials are off-loaded from the delivering vehicle and deposited on the ground in bulk for later individual transport and usage. From the storage place individual sheets of material are withdrawn and transported, normally by two men, to the location where the sheet is to be installed. Since sheet material is at least four feet by eight feet and in some cases four feet by twelve feet the use of two individuals is preferred to avoid injury to the worker or damage to the material. While the use of mobile carriers traversing the ground would permit a single individual to move the sheet material about the construction site, the nature of most construction sites does not lend itself to the use of rollers, dollies, skids and similar devices. The ground surface is typically unfinished, soft and strewn with debris. Furthermore, ramps and other interconnecting means are either not designed and installed at this time in the construction process or are located in areas remote from the place of installation.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to the provision of a device which enables a single individual to transport a large planar article to a desired location without assistance. In addition, the device readily permits the individual to place the carrier in position beneath the article and then to raise it to the transport position. Further, the device is a lightweight and durable integral unit of simplified design. This enhances the cost-benefit relationship governing its usage.